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RELATIONS OF THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT 
TO HIGHER EDUCATION AND RESEARCH. 



BY 
CHARLES D. WALCOTT. 



[Beprinted from Science, N. S., Vol. XIII., No. S39, Pages 1001-1015, June 28, 1901.'] 






2?F '05 



[Eeprinted from Science, N. S., Vol. XIII., No. SS9, Pages 1001-1015, June 23, 1901.'] 



RELATIONS OF THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT TO HIGHER 
EDUCATION AND RESEARCH.* 



When one considers the relations of the 
General Government to higher education 
and research, probably the first question to 
arise is. What, within the limitations im- 
posed by the Constitution, can the Govern- 
ment do? Other pertinent inquiries are: 
What has been done? What is the pres- 
ent policy of the Government? How are 
its educational resources being utilized ? 
What can be done that is not already being 
well done by our universities, colleges and 
technical institutions? 

Many of our wisest and best statesmen 
and jurists believe that the General Gov- ' 
ernment has no power, under the Con- 
stitution, to appropriate money for educa- 
tional purposes, that important function 
having been left to the States. A glance 
backward over the history of colonial and 
national discussion and legislation is inter- 
esting and instructive. 

HISTORY OF COLONIAL AND NATIONAL DIS- 
CUSSION. 

In colonial times Oxford, Cambridge and 
Edinburgh were to American youth the 
centers of learning and higher education. 
These famous universities furnished all that 
was needed by the well-to-do student, and 
local colleges were given little attention and 
scant support. The founders of our college 
system were obliged to meet adverse condi- 
tions which developed the same qualities 

* Substance of address before the University of 
Chicago, delivered June 17, 1901. 



that led their compatriots to the conquest 
of the continent. 

Early in the seventeenth century (1619) 
the Virginia Company granted ten thousand 
acres of land ' for the foundation of a semi- 
nary of learning for the English in Vir- 
ginia.' At the suggestion of the King, the 
bishops of England, in the same j'ear, raised 
fifteen hundred pounds to aid in the educa- 
tion of the Indians in connection with the 
proposed grant of land for the seminary. 
A portion of the land was occupied and the 
Seminary was started under the direction of 
• George Thorpe, a man of high standing in 
England. But the institution was short- 
lived. It, with its inmates and founder, 
perished in the Indian massacre of 1622. 

In 1624 an island in the Susquehanna 
river was granted for the founding and 
maintenance of a university, but the un- 
dertaking lapsed with the death of its pro- 
jector and of James I. and the fall of the 
Virginia Companj'. 

For a time the movement for higher edu- 
cation was delayed, but in 1636 Harvard 
was founded ; then William and Mary, in 
1660 ; Yale, in 1701 ; the College of Kew 
Jersey, in 1746 ; the University of Penn- 
sylvania, in 1751 ; Columbia, in 1754 ; 
Brown, in 1764; Dartmouth, in 1769 ; the 
University of Maryland, in 1784; the Uni- 
versity of North Carolina, in 1789-'95 ; the 
University of Vermont, in 1791, and Bow- 
doin, in 1794. 

The university spirit was well developed 



SCIENCE. 



when the Constitutional Convention met in 
1787. Madison, who was a member of the 
convention, acting in harmony with the 
known wishes of Washington, proposed to 
give the National Legislature power — 

To establish a university. 

To encourage, by premiums and provisions, the ad- 
vancement of useful knowledge and the discussion of 
science. 

Charles Pinckney also earnestly advo- 
cated a plan for the establishment of a 
national university, and Mr. Wilson sup- 
ported the motion; but the matter was 
dropped, on the ground that Congress al- 
ready had sufficient power to enact laws for 
the support of national education. 

John Adams, who agreed with Washing- 
ton in believing that ' scientific institutions 
are the best lasting protection of a popular 
government,' was always a strong advocate 
of the promotion of intelligence among the 
people. He secured the insertion in the 
constitution of Massachusetts of a provision 
recognizing the obligation of a State to pur- 
sue a higher and broader policy than the 
mere protection of the temporal interests 
and political rights of the individual. This 
provision read as follows : 

It shall be the duty of legislatures and magistrates 
in all future periods of this Commonwealth, to cherish 
the interests of literature and the sciences * * * to 
encourage private societies, and public institutions, 
rewards and immunities for the promotion of agricul- 
ture, arts, sciences, commerce, trades, manufactures, 
and a natural historj' of the country.* 

Washington sought to impress on Con- 
gress and the people his earnest conviction 
that the Government should establish and 
support a great national university. To 
this end he made a bequest in his will, 
and if Congress had treated it as the Legis- 
lature of Virginia treated his bequest for 
the endowment of Washington College, 
there would be to-day a fund sufficient to 
give adequate support to a great institu- 
tion for investigation and original research 

* Massachusetts Public Statutes, 1882, p. 34. 



in the capital citJ^ In his will Washington 
expressed the fears he entertained as to the 
effect of foreign education on the j'outh of 
America, and the desirability of having an 
American university. His language was as 
follows : 

That as it has always been a source of serious re- 
gret with me to see the youth of these United States 
sent to foreign countries for the purpose of education, 
often before their minds are formed, or they have im- 
bibed any adequate ideas of the happiness of their 
own, contracting too frequently not only habits of 
dissipation and extravagance, but principles un- 
friendly to republican government, and to the true 
and genuine liberties of mankind, which thereafter 
are rarely overcome. For these reasons it has been 
my ardent wish to see a plan devised on a liberal 
scale which would have a tendency to spread sys- 
tematic ideas through all parts of this rising empire, 
thereby to do away with local attachments and State 
prejudices, as far as the'nature of things would, or 
indeed, ought to admit, from our national councils. 
Looking anxiously forward to the accomplishment of 
so desirable an object as this is (in my estimation), 
my mind has not been able to contemplate any plan 
more likely to eHeot the measure than the establish- 
ment of a university in a central part of the United 
States, to which the youth of fortune and talents from 
all parts thereof might be sent for the completion of 
their education in all the branches of polite litera- 
ture, in arts, and sciences, in acquiring knowledge 
in the principles of politics and good government, 
and (as a matter.'ot infinite importance, in my judg- 
ment), by associating with each other, and forming 
friendships in juvenile years, be enabled to free them- 
selves in a proper degree from those local prejudices 
and habitual jealousies which have just been men- 
tioned, and which when carried to excess are never- 
failing sources of disquietude to the public mind, 
and pregnant of mischievous consequences to this 
country. 

Madison, though defeated in his effort to 
secure the approval of the Constitutional 
Convention in respect to the establishment 
of a national university, did not fail, when 
President, to call the attention of Congress 
to the subject. In his second annual mes- 
sage he said : 

I cannot presume it to be unreasonable to invite 
your attention to the advantages of superadding to 
the means of education provided by the several States 
a seminary of learning instituted by the national 



SCIENCE. 



legislature, within the limits of their exclusive juris- 
diction, the expense of which might be defrayed or 
reimbursed out of the vacant grounds which have 
accrued to the nation within those limits. (Annals 
of Congress, 1810, '11, '13.)* 

Various other attempts have been made 
from time to time to establish a national 
university. Blaekmar says : 

In 1796 a proposition was before Congress in the 
form of a memorial praying for the foundation of a 
university. (Ex. Doc, 4th Congress, 2d session.) 

Again, in 1811 a committee was appointed by Con- 
gress to report on the question of the establishment 
of a seminary of learning by the National Legisla- 
ture. The committee reported unfavorably, deeming 
it unconstitutional for the Government to found, en- 
dow and control the proposed seminary. (Ex. Doc, 
11th Congress, 3d session.) 

In 1816 another committee was appointed to con- 
sider the same subject, and again the scheme failed. 
(Ex. Doc, 14th Congress, 2d session.) f 

When the disposition of the Smithson 
fund was under consideration (1838-1846), 
the subject of founding a national univer- 
sity was fully and freely discussed, and the 
plan was rejected by Congress. 

Again in 1873 the matter was revived by 
the Hon. J. W. Hoyt, who from that time 
onward never ceased to labor diligently for 
a national universitj\ Largely owing to 
his zeal and activity a committee of 100 
was formed, various bills were introduced in 
Congress and a Senate Committee was cre- 
ated to establish a national university. But 
Congress always looked on the scheme 
with suspicion and not one of the various 
bills offered was ever acted upon by the 
Senate or House of Representatives. 

The trend of opinion has been and is that 
the Government should not found a na- 
tional university wi the sense suggested by 
Washington and his followers. The Con- 
gress has, however, generously aided techni- 

* ' The History of Federal and State Aid to Higher 
Education in the United States,' by Frank W. Black- 
mar, Ph.D. : Bureau of Education, Contributions to 
American Educational History, edited by Herbert B. 
Adams, No. 9, 1890, p. 32. 

fOp. oit., pp. 39, 40. 



cal and higher education by grants of land 
to States and Territories for educational 
purposes. 

The policy was inaugurated under the 
general authority of the famous Ordinance 
of July 13, 1787. Conformably thereto a 
contract was entered into between the Ohio 
Company and the Board of Treasury of the 
United States, on the 27th of July, 1787, 
whereby lot 16 in every township was given 
for the maintenance of public schools and 
not more than two complete townships were 
given perpetually for the purpose of a uni- 
versitj', the land to be applied to the pur- 
pose bj' the legislature of the State. * 

The most important act, after that of 
1787, was that of 1862, granting land for 
the endowment of colleges for teaching agri- 
culture and the mechanical arts. It is to 
be noted that by this act the responsibility 
was thrown entirely upon the States, and 
that, so far as the administration of the 
fund was concerned, it was State, not na- 
tional, education. 

The total grants of lands aggregate 
about 13,000,000 acres, or 20,000 square 
miles. Of this 2,500,000 acres, or 4,000 
square miles, were for the establishment of 
higher institutions of learning. This land, 
divided among thirty States and Territories, 
gives an average of a little more than 80,- 
000 acres, or about 130 square miles. For 
technical schools, called ' Colleges for the 
benefit of agriculture and the mechanical 
arts,' Congress has granted to forty-five 
States 10,500,000 acres, or about 16,000 
square miles. This is an average of 230,- 
000 acres, or about 360 square miles. Con- 
gress now grants annually to each of the 
forty-five States $25,000, f a total of more 

* Bancroft, 'History of the Constitution,' N. Y., 
1882, Vol. II., pp. 435, 436. Also Geo. B. Germann, 
' National Legislation concerning Education, ' New 
York, 1899, pp. 19, 20. 

tAct approved August 30, 1890. Statutes at 
Large, Vol. 26, p. 417. 



SCIENCE. 



than a million dollars, all of which is 
expended under the direction of State 
boards. 

The Government maintains, and has 
maintained since 1802, an academy for 
training its army officers ; also, since 1845, 
an academy for training its naval officers. 
The Government does not maintain and 
never has maintained any institution for 
training its civil officers. 

The policy of the Government, as gathered 
from its acts, has been to relegate the di- 
rect control of education to the States, 
aiding them in this work by grants of land, 
and in the case of technical education by 
grants of money also. 

PRESENT POLICY OF THE GOVERNMENT. 

Turning, n.ow, to the question, What is 
the present policy of the Government? we 
have just seen that aid is given by grants 
of land, and in the case of the experiment 
stations by grants of money. As to the 
use of its literary and scientific collections 
by students its policy was defined by a 
public resolution of Congress approved 
April 12, 1892, which reads as follows : 

Whereas large colleofcions illustrative of the various 
arts and sciences and facilitating literary and scientific 
research have been accumulated by the action of Con- 
gress through a series of years at the national capital ; 
and 

Whereas it was the original purpose of the Govern- 
ment thereby to promote research and the diffusion of 
knowledge, and it is now the settled policy and pres- 
ent practice of those chargel with the care of these 
collections specially to encourage students who devote 
their time to the investigation aad study of any 
branch of knowledge by allowing to them all proper 
use thereof ; and 

Whereas it is represented that the enumeration of 
these facilities and the formal statement of this policy 
will encourage the establishment and endowment of 
institutions of learning at the seat of Government, 
and promote the work of educat'on by attracting 
students to avail themselves of the advantages afore- 
said under the direction of competent instructors : 
Therefore, 

Resolved, by the Senate and House of Eepresentativ( s 
of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, 



That the facilities for research and illustration in the 
following and any other Governmental collections 
now existing or hereafter to be established in the city 
of Washington for the promotion of knowledge shall- 
be accessible, under such rules and restrictions as the 
officers in charge of each collection may prescribe, 
subject to such authority as is now or may hereafter 
be permitted by law, to the scientific investigators and 
to students of any institution of higher education 
now incorporated or hereafter to be incorporated un- 
der the laws of Congress or the.District of Columbia, 
to wit : 

One. Of the Library of Congress. 

Two. Of the NationalJMuseum. 

Three. Of the Patent OflSee. 

Four. Of the Bureau of Education. 

Five. Of the Bureau of Ethnology. 

Six. Of the Army Medical Museum. 
■ Seven. Of the Department of Agriculture. 

Eight. Of the Fish Commission. 

Nine. Of the Botanic Gardens. 

Ten. Of the Coast and Geodetic Survey. 

Eleven. Of the Geological Survey. 

Twelve. Of the Naval Observatory. 

The privileges of this act, it will be noted, 
are limited to scientific investigators and 
students of institutions incorporated un- 
der the laws of Congress or the District of 
Columbia. This limitation was removed 
by an act approved March 3, 1901, which 
reads as follows : 

Joint resolution to facilitate the utilization of the 
Government Departments for the purposes of research, 
in extension of the policy enunciated by Congress in 
the joint resolution approved April 12, 1892. 

Whereas * * * 

Besolved, That facilities for study and research i n the 
Government departments, the Library of Cpngress, the 
National Museum, the Zoological Park, the Bureau 
of Enthnology, the Fish Commission, the Botanic 
Gardens and similar institutions hereafter estab- 
lished shall be afforded to scientific investigators and 
to duly qualified individual students, and graduates 
of institutions of learning in the several States and 
Territories, as well as in the District of Columbia,' 
under such rules and restrictions as the heads of the 
departments and bureaus mentioned may prescribe. 

DISCUSSION AND ACTION IN RECENT YEARS. 

Dr. Daniel C. Gilman, in 1897, summa- 
rized the situation in relation to the estab- 



SCIENCE. 



lisbment of a national university', as fol- 
lows :* 

First, there is a strong desire, not only among the 
residents of the Federal city, but among the lovers 
and promoters of learning throughout the country, 
that the libraries, collections, instruments, and appa- 
ratus belonging to the Government should be opened 
to students, not as a favor, nor by exception, nor as a 
passing entertainment, but for study and experiment, 
according to suitable regulations, and especially under 
the guidauce of such able teachers as may be already 
engaged in the service of the Government, or may be 
enlisted hereafter for the particular ofSces of educa- 
tion. So far as this there would be a unanimous, or 
nearly unanimous, assent. 

Second, the universities existing in Washington 
and near to it, including those of New England, 
would regard with disfavor, and probably with dis- 
trust, an effort to establish, by congressional action, 
the University of the United States. In some placeH 
there would be positive opposition. "'■' * * 

Third, outside of academic circles, as well as in- 
side, there is a great distrust of the principle that 
Congress should provide for and direct university 
education. The fears may be foolish. It is easy to 
laugh at them. Apprehensions may be pronounced 
groundless ; nevertheless it will be difficult to get rid 
of them. There will be an ever-present expectation 
of political interference, first in the governing body, 
then in the faculty, and finally in the subjects and 
methods of instruction. It is true that partisan en- 
tanglement may be avoided, but it will be diflScult 
indeed to escape the thraldom. 

In the same article it is suggested that 
the Smithsonian Institution take charge, so 
that — 

The literary and scientific institutions of Washing- 
ton may be associated and correlated so far, and so 
far only, as relates to the instruction and assistance, 
under proper restrictions, of qualified students. * * * 
Such a learned society may be developed more readily 
around the Smithsonian Institution, with less fric- 
tion, less expense, less peril, and with the prospect of 
more permanent and widespread advantages to the 
country, than by a dozen denominational seminaries 
or one colossal University of the United States. 

In February, 1899, Dr. William H. Dall, 
of the Geological Survej', outlined very 
clearly the conditions and possibilities for 
postgraduate work in Washington, and 
urged that if any organization was at- 

* Century Magazine, November, 1897. 



tempted it should be free from Government 
control.* 

Little, if anj', advantage was taken of 
the congressional resolution of 1892, which 
restricted opportunities for study and re- 
search to the educational organizations of 
the District of Columbia, but with the re- 
cent rapid growth of the Department of 
Agriculture, a considerable number of stu- 
dents have been given opportunity for 
study and practical training. Secretary 
Wilson has taken the lead in actually 
bringing qualified students into the labora- 
tories of a Government department and 
setting them to work. He has inaugurated 
a new class, called ' student assistants,' and 
has demonstrated its practical value. In 
his report for 1898 he says :t 

George Washington, by his will, left property to 
be devoted to university education in the District of 
Colum bia. There is no university in the laud where 
the young farmer may pursue post-graduate studies 
in all the sciences relating to production. The scien- 
tific divisions of the Department of Agriculture can, 
to some extent, provide post-graduate facilities. Our 
chiefs of division are very proficient in their lines ; 
our apparatus the best obtainable ; our libraries the 
most complete of any in the nation. We can direct 
the studies of a few bright young people in each di- 
virion, and when the department requires help, as it 
often does, these young scientists will be obtainable. 
They should be graduates of agricultural colleges 
and come to the Department of Agriculture through 
a system of examination that would bring the best 
and be fair to all applicants. The capacity of the 
department is limited, but something can be done 
that will indicate to Congress the value of the plan. 
The department often needs assistants to take the 
place of those who are tempted to accept higher sal- 
aries in State institutions The opening of our lab- 
oratories to post-graduate work would provide an 
eligible list from which to fill vacancies as they oc- 
cur, supply temporary agents, and be a source from 
which State institutions might get assistance in scien- 
tific lines. 

The Department of Agriculture naturally 
turns to the professedly agricultural col- 

* American Natm-aJisf, Vol . 33, pp. 97-107. 
{'Yearbook of the Department of Agriculture,' 
1898, pp. 18, 19. 



SCIENCE, 



leges for its student assistants, but if other 
institutions gave their students such in- 
struction as would qualify them for the 
work of that department, there seems to be 
no good reason why they should be dis- 
criminated against. 

As the development of the work pro- 
gressed in the scientific bureaus, it be- 
came impossible to find men qualified 
for the permanent positions open to them. 
Graduate students were obtainable, but 
they were without practical training for 
the work. The Civil Service Commis- 
sion was called on, but it had no eligi- 
bles on its lists. The only way out of the 
difficulty seemed to be for the heads of 
the scientific bureaus to select bright, well- 
educated young men and train them ; this 
they have been doing for several years. In 
the Geological Survey graduate students, 
being the best men available for temporary 
field assistants in both geologic and topo- 
graphic work, are given preference. The 
Survey cooperates with such institutions of 
learning as are willing to give the advanced 
instruction necessary to fit students to en- 
gage in the several special lines of investi- 
gation. This cooperation consists mainly 
in the employment of graduate students 
and instructors. A high standard is main- 
tained by the character of the examina- 
tions held for selecting temporary em- 
ployes. For example, in the examination 
for temporary geologic assistants held April 
23 and 24, 1901, the applicants were obliged 
to meet the following requirements : 

First. To write an essay of more tban a thousand 
words, setting forth either the course and results of 
an original geologic investigation by the applicant 
or the main features of the geology of some State. 

Second. To answer satisfactorily seven questions, 
so selected as to test the applicant's l^nowledge of the 
science of geology in general. 

Third. To select one of the five specialties, stra- 
tigraphy, petrography, paleontology, physiography, 
and glaciology, and make clear the possession of an 
adequate knowledge thereof. 



The weight given to the various subjects 
was as follows : 
Geological essay, including compo- 
sition and drawing 30 per cent. 

General geology 15 per cent. 

Special geology 25 per cent. 

Education and experience 30 per cent. 

Fifty-two persons took this examination, 
and of these forty-six made an average of 
more than 70 per cent. The successful 
applicants have received degrees for aca- 
demic and graduate study from the follow- 
ing institutions of learning : 

Harvard University 13 

Johns Hopkins University 6 - 

University of Chicago 6 

Yale University 5 

Cornell University 4 

University of Wisconsin 2 

University of California 2 

University of Kansas 2 

Stanford University 2 

Iowa State College 2 

Amherst College 2 

Munich 2 

Alfred University 1 

Beloit College 1 

Columbia University 1 

Columbian University 1 

Cornell College, Iowa 1 

Denison University 1 

Gates College 1 

German Wallace College 1 

Hamilton College 1 

Heidelberg College, Ohio 1 

Heidelberg, Germany 1 

Indiana State University 1 

Lafayette College 1 

Lawrence Scientific School 1 

Moore's Hill College 1 

Ohio Wesleyan University 1 

University of Illinois 1 

University of Minnesota 1 

University of Missouri 1 

University of Nebraska 1 

University of the City of New York 1 

University of Oregon 1 

University of South Carolina 1 

Williams College 1 

The total of forty-six successful appli- 
cants divides by State residence as follows : 
Massachusetts 9 



SCIENCE. 



Illinois 7 

New York 7 

Iowa 3 

Connecticnt 2 

Indiana 2 

Missouri 2 

Pennsylvania 2 

South Carolina 2 

California 

Colorado 

Kansas 

Kentucky 

New Jersey 

Ohio 

Oregon 

Tennessee 

Wisconsin 

Wyoming 

Of those who passed, forty have received 
appointments to temporary positions. It is 
probable that 50 per cent, of the number 
will become permanent members of the Sur- 
vey ; 38 per cent, already hold or will ob- 
tain positions as instructors in educational 
institutions, and the others will enter, State 
surveys and private employment. 

Of the temporary geologic force of the 
Survey other than those mentioned, and 
who receive pay only when actually em- 
ployed, the majority are connected with in- 
stitutions of learning, as follows : 

Harvard University 4 

University of Chicago 4 

- University of Wisconsin 3 

Columbia University 2 

Stanford University 2 

Yale University 2 

Amherst College 1 

Clark University 1 

Colby University 1 

Johns Hopkins University 1 

Ohio State University 1 

University of Michigan 1 

University of California 1 

University of Virginia 1 

University of West Virginia 1 

University of South Dakota 1 

Vanderbilt University 1 

Williams College 1 

The preceding statements illustrate the 
intimate relation existing between one di- 



vision of one bureau of one department of 
the Government and the higher educational 
interests of the country. A close analysis 
of the personnel of other bureaus will doubt- 
less show that the Government is thus in- 
directly doing a great work in fostering 
higher education and research, and it will 
at the same time be seen that the educa- 
tional institutions of the country are train- 
ing men and women for the highest scientific 
and technical positions in the Government 
service. 

The Association of Agricultural Colleges 
and Experiment Stations several years ago 
realized the importance of giving its stu- 
dents the training which would enable 
them to meet the conditions prevailing in 
Washington. A committee of graduate 
study in Washington was appointed in 
July, 189V.* In the following April this 
committee met in Washington to study the 
conditions under which work might be 
undertaken. In a report made in Novem- 
ber, 1898, the committee said in part : 

After long deliberation and full discussion your 
committee are unanimously of the opinion that the 
time is ripe for expeditious action. 

The inquiries and investigations so far made lead 
the committee to the conclusion that it is entirely 
practicable to provide for the use of the Library of 

* Resolved, That a committee of five be appointed 
by the President to investigate, consider, and, if 
practicable, devise a plan whereby graduate students 
of the laud grant and other colleges may have access 
to and the use of the Congressional Library and the 
collections in the Smithsonian Institution, the Na- 
tional Museum, and the scientific bureaus of the 
various departments at Washington of the United 
States Government for the purposes of study and re- 
search, said plan to include suggestions as to the 
manner in which such work may be organized, co- 
ordinated, and directed to the best advantage ; the 
composition and organization of such a staff as may 
be necessary to properly coordinate and direct such 
work, and also an outline of such legislation as may 
be necessary to effect the general purposes of this 
resolution. (Proc. Twelfth Annual Convention of 
the Assn. Amer. Agricultural Colleges and Exper- 
iment Stations, held at Wash., D. C, Nov. 15-17, 
1898, being Bull. 65, Dept. Agriculture, p. 58. ) 



SCIENCE. 



Congress and the collections of the Smithsonian In- 
stitution, the National Museum, and of the various 
scientific and other bureaus in the several depart- 
ments of the general government, by graduate stu- 
dents of the land grant and other colleges, for stady 
and research, and that it is also practicable to organ- 
ize, coordinate, and direct such work so as to make 
it eminently effective. 

The committee has been greatly desirous that some 
existing agency be found to undertake such work of 
organization, coordination, and direction, and have 
naturally turned to the Smithsonian Institution as 
the one best fitted for the purpose. 

The committee is unable, at the present time, to 
present a complete outline of the legislation necessary 
to effect the general purposes of the resolution. It 
submits tentatively, however, that Congress might be 
asked to provide for the establishment of an admin- 
istrative office in Washington, preferably in the Smith- 
sonian Institution, in which graduate students of the 
institutions we represent, and others as well, might 
be enrolled and directed to the appropriate depart- 
ments (Bull. 65, Dept. Agriculture, pp. 61, 62). 

In a report by the subcommittee of the 
committee of the National Educational As- 
sociation on the establishment of a national 
university, we find that the active coop- 
eration of the Smithsonian Institution is 
contemplated in the conduct of the proposed 
school or bureau, but that the committee of 
the regents of the Smithsonian Institution 
feel that the powers of the institution, as at 
present organized, are insufficient to em- 
brace the work proposed.* 

At a meeting of the Smithsonian regents 
held on January 24, 1900, Dr. Alexander 
Graham Bell introduced a resolution to the 
effect that Congress be asked to provide for 
"an assistant secretary of the Smithsonian 
Institution inchargeof research in the Gov- 
ernmeut departments, etc. The resolution 
was referred to a committee, which, on Jan- 
uary 23, 1901, reported a modified form of 
the original resolution. This modified 
form was adopted by the board of regents. 
It reads as follows : 

In order to facilitate the utilization of the Govern- 
ment departments for the purpose of research, in ex- 

* Science, N. S., Vol. XI., March 16, 1900, pp. 
410-414. 



tension of the policy enunciated by Congress in the 
Joint Resolution approved April 12, 1892 : 

Besoloed, That it is the sense of the board that it is 
desirable that Congress extend this resolution so as to 
afford facilities for study to all properly qualified 
students or graduates of universities, other than those 
mentioned in the resolution, and provide for the ap- 
pointment of an officer whose duty it shall be to as- 
certain and make known what facilities for research 
exist in the Government departments, and arrange 
with the heads of the departments, and with the offi- 
cers in charge of the Government collections, on terms 
satisfactory to them, rules and regulations under 
which suitably qualified persons might have access 
to these collections for the purpose of research with 
due regard to the needs and requirements of the work 
of the Government ; and that it should also be his 
duty to direct, in a manner satisfactory to the heads 
of such departments and officers in charge, the re- 
searches of such persons into lines which will pro- 
mote the interests of the Government and the devel- 
opment of the natural resources, agriculture, manu- 
factures and commerce of the country, and (generally) 
promote the progress of science and the useful arts, 
and the increase and diffusion of knowledge among 
men. 

This resolution referred the matter to 
Congress. Many members of both Houses 
doubt whether Congress has power under 
the Constitution to appropriate money raised 
by taxation for purposes of education, and 
nothing was done by Congress, as the reso- 
lution was not officially brought before it. 

ORGANIZATION" OF THE WASHINGTON ME- 
MORIAL INSTITUTION. 

At this point the Washington Academy 
of Sciences undertook to give the proposi- 
tion to utilize the resources of the Govern- 
ment for higher education and research a 
practical form, independent of direct Gov- 
ernment support or control. For several 
months the Academy had been conferring 
with the George Washington Memorial As- 
sociation relative to erecting in Washington 
a memorial building to be dedicated to sci- 
ence, literature and the liberal arts. The 
president of the Academy suggested to the 
Memorial Association that it should so 
amend its act of incorporation that it could 



SCIENCE. 



9 



cooperate with the Academj' in carrying out 
the objects common to both organizations. 
The suggested amendments were made, and 
au agreement was entered into substantially 
as follows : 

The objects of the George Washington 
Memorial Association are, first, as implied 
in its name, the creation of a memorial to 
George Washington ; and second, as stated 
in its amended act of incorporation, the in- 
crease in the city of Washington of oppor- 
tunities and facilities for higher education, 
as recommended by George Washington in 
his various annual messages to Congress, 
notably the first; — i. e., 'the promotion of 
science and literature,' substantially as set 
forth in his last will, and bj' and through 
such other plans and methods as may be 
necessary or suitable. The object of the 
Washington Academy of Sciences, the fed- 
erated head of the scientific societies of 
Washington, is the promotion of science, 
the term ' science ' being used in its gen- 
eral sense — ' knowledge, comprehension of 
facts and principles.' 

The two organizations agreed, first, that, 
although American universities have so 
developed since George Washington's time 
that they fulfill many of the objects of the 
national university outlined by him as de- 
sirable for the youth of the United States, 
there is still need of an organization in the 
city of Washington which shall facilitate 
the utilization of the various scientific and 
other resources of the Government for pur- 
poses of research, thus cooperating with 
all universities, colleges and individuals 
in giving to men and women the practical 
post-graduate training which cannot be ob- 
tained elsewhere in the United States and 
which is now available only to a limited 
degree in the city of Washington, and, 
second, that the best method of securing 
the objects for which both organizations 
stand is the establishment, within the dis- 
trict selected bj' Washington as a site for 



the permanent seat of Government of the 
United States, of an institution whose ob- 
ject shall be the realization of Washing- 
ton's repeatedly expressed wish and recom- 
mendation that provision be made for the 
promotion of science and literature. 

The membership of the Academj' in- 
cludes most of the leading scientific men 
of Washington and the countrj' at large. 
The Academy, familiar with conditions in 
Washington and with the efforts of the 
committees of the Association of Agricul- 
tural Colleges and Experiment Stations 
and the National Educational Association, 
and knowing that tlie Smithsonian Insti- 
tution would not, under its limitations, take 
an active part, I'ealized that the time was 
opportune for a new organization. Its com- 
mittee drafted and secured the passage of 
the act of Congress approved March 3, 
1901. The committee next drafted a plan 
of organization, which was accepted by the 
Academy and Memorial Association. The 
plan was, in brief, as follows : 

1. Organization. — A private foundation independ- 
ent of Government support or control. 

2. OJjjeds. — (a) To facilitate the use of the scien- 
tific and other resources of the Government for re- 
search . 

(o) To cooperate with universities, colleges and 
individuals in securing to properly qualified persons 
opportunities for advanced study and research. 

3. Guvernment. — The policy, control and manage- 
ment to vest in a hoard of fifteen trustees, and in 
addition there shall be an advisory board composed 
chiefly of heads of executive departments, bureaus, 
etc. 

Articles of incorporation were then drawn 
up and executed, and were filed on May 20, 
1901. They read as follows : 

Articles of Incorporation, Wuslnnglon 3Iemorial 

Institution. 
Wc, the undersigned, persons of full age and citizens 
of the United States, and a majority of -whom are 
citizens of the District of Columbia, being desirous to 
establish and maintain, in the city of Washington, an 
institution in memory of George Washington, for 
promoting science and literature, do hereby associate 



10 



SCIENCE. 



ourselves as a body corporate, for said purpose, under 
the general incorporation acts of the Congress of the 
United States enacted for the District of Columbia ; 
and we do hereby certify in pursuance of said act as 
follows : 

First. The name or title by whioh such institution 
sliall be known in law is the Washington Memorial 
Institution. 

Second. The term for which said institution is or- 
ganized is nine hundred and ninety-nine years. 

Third. The particular ftiisiness an(^ oi/ec/s of the in- 
stitution are : to create a memorial to George Wash- 
ington, to promote science and literature, to provide 
opportunities and facilities for higher learning, and 
to facilitate the utilization of the scientific and other 
resources of the Government for purposes of research 
and higher education. 

Fourth. The number of its trustees for the first year 
of its existence shall be fifteen. 

In testimony whereof we have hereto set our names 
and affixed our seals, at the city of Washington, in 
the District of Columbia, on the 16th day of May, 
1901. 

Daniel C. Giljian. [seal.] 

Charlotte Everett Hopkins, [seal.] 
C. Hart Meeeiam. [seal.] 

George M. Steenbeeq. [seal.] 

^ Chas. D. Walcott. [seal.] 

Caeeoll D. Wright. [seal] 

District of Columbia, ss : 

Be it remembered that on this 16th day of May, A. D. 
1901, before the subscriber personally appeared the 
above-named Daniel C. Gilman, Charlotte Everett 
Hopkins, C. Hart Merriam, Geo. M. Sternberg, Chas. 
D. Walcott, and Carroll D. Wright, to me personally 
known and known to me to be the persons whose 
names are subscribed to the foregoing instrument of 
writing, and severally and personally acknowledged 
the same to be their act and deed for the uses and 
purposes therein set forth. 

Given under my hand and official seal the day and 
year above written. 

[seal.] (Signed) Heebbet W. Gill, 

Notary Public. 

Oa May 27 fifteen trustees were elected, 
and on June 3 the officers for the first year 
were chosen. Lists of these are given here- 
with : 

Board of Trustees, Washington Memorial Institution. 

1. Dr. Edwin A. Alderman, President Tulane Uni- 
versity. 

2. Dr. A. Graham Bell, Regent Smithsonian Insti- 
tution. 



3. Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler, Professor of Phi- 
losophy and Education, Columbia University. 

4. Dr. C. W. Dabney, President University of 
Tennessee. 

5. Dr. D. C. Gilmau, President Johns Hopkins 
University. 

6. Dr. A. T. Hadley, President Yale University. 

7. Dr. William R. Harper, President University of 
Chicago. 

8. Jlrs. Phosbe A. Hearst, Regent University of 
California. 

9. Mrs. Archibald Hopkins, President George 
Washington Memorial Association. 

10. Dr. C. Hart Merriam, Chief United States Bi- 
ological Survey. 

11. Dr. Cyrus Northrop, President University of 
Minnesota. 

12. Dr. H. S. Pritchett, President Massachusetts 
Institute of Technology. 

13. Dr. George M. Sternberg, Surgeon-General 
United States Army. 

14. Hon. Charles D. Walcott, President Washing- 
ton Academy of Sciences, and Director United States 
Geological Survey. 

15. Hon. Carroll D. Wright, Commissioner of 
Labor. 

Officers of Washington Memorial Institution. 

Daniel C. Gilman, director. 
Charles D. Walcott, president board of trustees. 
Nicholas Murray Butler, secretary board of trustees. 
C. J. Bell, treasurer. 

An advisory board also was selected, as 
follows : 

President of the United States. 
Chief Justice of the United States. 
Secretary of State. 
Secretary of the Treasury. 
Secretary of War. 
Secretary of the Navy. 
Secretary of the Interior. 
Secretary of Agriculture. 
Postmaster-General. 
Attorney-General. 

Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. 
Commissioner of Education. 
Librarian of Congress. 
Commissioner of Labor. 
Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries. 
President of the Civil Service Commission. 
President of the National Academy of Sciences. 
President of the National Educational Association. 
President of the Association of American Univer- 
sities. 



SCIENCE. 



11 



President of the Association of Agricultural Col- 
leges and Experiment Stations. 
Dr. Charles W. Eliot. 

The duties of the director, as defined in 
the by-laws are as follows : 

The director shall be the chief executive of the in- 
stitution, and, under the guidance and control of the 
executive committee, shall conduct its affairs. He 
shall make all arrangements for cooperation betveeen 
the institution, on the one hand, and the Govern- 
ment, universities, colleges, learned societies, and in- 
dividuals on the other, subject to the approval of the 
executive committee. 

EXISTING FACILITIES FOR STUDY AND RE- 
SEARCH. 

The policy of the Government, as ex- 
pressed, is to aid in higher education and 
research by granting the use of such facili- 
ties as are at its command in the District 
of Columbia. The direct control of higher 
education has been relegated to the States, 
the Government aiding by grants of land, 
and in the case of technical education at 
agricultural experiment stations by grants 
of money. 

The Government has carried on original 
research for its own purposes in the District 
of Columbia through grants of money to 
its various scientific and technical bureaus, 
notably those of the Department of Agri- 
culture, the Coast and Geodetic Survey, the 
Geological Survey, the jSTational Museum, 
the Bureau of Ethnology, the Fish Com- 
mission, the Bureau of Education, the Li- 
brary of Congress, etc. 

Of the total sum appropriated for the 
fiscal year 1901, at least 25 per cent., or 
$2,020,000, may be regarded as expendable 
for scientific and research work and in the 
interest of higher education. The appro- 
priations for the year are as follows : 

Department of Agriculture : 

Weather Bureau ....si. 168, 320 

Bureau of Animal Industry 1,1.54,030 

" Plant Industry 204,680 

" Forestry 155,440 

" Chemistry 35,.S00 

" Soils 109.140 

Division of Entomology 36,200 

" Biological Survey 32,800 



Agricultural Experiment Stations — 789,000 

Miscellaneous 222,000 

^53,937,410.00 
War Department : 
Army Medical Museum and Library 25,000.00 

Navy Department : 

Hydrographic Office $136,518.00 

Naval Ohservatory 226,461.08 

Nautical Almanac 15,900.00 

378.879.08 

Interior Department : 

Geological Survey Sl,023,423.11 

Bureau of Education 59,370.00 

1,082,793.11 
Treasury Department : 

Coast and Geodetic Survey 3830,345 

Bureau of Standards 167,140 

Marine Hospital 71,100 

1,068,685 00 
Smithsonian Institution : 

National Museum $289,400 

Bureau of American Ethnology 50,000 

National Zoological Park S0,0C0 

Astrophysical Observatory 12,000 

International Exchanges 24,000 

455,400.00 

Commission of Fish and Fisheries .543,120.00 

Botanic Gardens 24,393.75 

Library of Congress 566,345.00 

Total $8,080,925.94 

This is about ten cents per capita for the 
entire population. 

Great collections of books, specimens, 
statuary, paintings, instruments, apparatus, 
etc., have been assembled in Washington. 

Libraries. — Statistics of the principal li- 
braries reveal the presence of a large num- 
ber of books, maps and pamphlets, many 
collections of which are exceptionally com- 
plete in special lines of research, notably 
those of the Departments of State and Agri- 
culture, the Geological Survey, the Naval 
Observatory, the Surgeon-General's OfBce, 
the Bureau of Education, the Museum of 
Hygiene, the Patent Office, the National 
Museum, and special collections in the Li- 
brary of Congress. The principal libraries 
are here listed : 

Fam- 
Books. phlets. Maps. 

Library of Congress 1,000,000* 55,700 

" " Smithsonian Institution 2.50,0001 
" " U. S. Supreme Court.... 80,000t 

* Books and pamphlets. 

t These figures are included in the 1,000,000 assigned to the 
Library of Congress. 



12 



SCIENCE. 



Library of Army Medical Museum. 135,053 229,540 

" " Dept. of Agriculture... 68,000 

" " Bureau of Education.. 81,872 140,001 

"PatentOeace 74,140 

" " Department of State 63,000 2,500 

" " Geological Survey 47,600 77,027 29,185 

" " National Museum 25,000 30,000 

" " Coast and Geodetic Sur. 16,405 6,178 25,000 

" " Weather Bureau 18,000 5,000 

'* " Museum of Hygiene ll,9fJ9 

" " Hydrograpnic Office..,. 3,000 

" Bureau of Ethnology... 12,000 4,000 

" Bureau of Statistics 6,000 5,000 

" " Department of .Justice.. 30,000 

" " Department of Labor... 7,051 4,454 

" " Corcoran Gallery of Art 2,500 

" "Treasury D.jpartment. . 22,000 3,000 

" "War Department 49,000 2,000 

" " Navy Department 33,635 

" " Interior Department... 15,000 

" " Post Office Department. 12,000 

" Light-House Board 5,000 

" " War Records Office 2,000 

" " Naval Observatory 20,000 4,000 

" " Naut. Almanac Office.. 2,200 2,500 

2,092,430 515,209 109,885 

Other libraries iu the District bring the 
grand total to more than 2,500,000 volumes, 
570,000 pamphlets, and 110,000 maps, as- 
sembled in large part by specialists in 
every field. All the libraries are accessible 
and are maintained at a high standard of 
ef&ciency. 

Collections. — The collections of the Na- 
tional Museum, though inadequately housed 
and with insufficient laboratories for the 
vsrork of the regular museum force, are, 
nevertheless, of such character and are so 
arranged for exhibition and study that 
they will be of great service to all who may 
wish to use them. Under the present or- 
ganization of the museum there are three 
departments : Anthropolog}', Biology and 
Geology. All the exhibits are systemat- 
ically classified and placed in immediate 
charge of specialists acquainted with the 
results of man's activity in almost every 
form in which such results admit of study 
and representative exhibition. As pro- 
vided by statute, the collections made by 
the Geological and other surveys are de- 
posited in the National Museum after they 
have been used by the organization which 
collected them. This has resulted in an 



immense accumulation of material, much 
of which has not yet been fully studied, 
and upon which, when sufficient laboratory 
space is provided, students can be em- 
ployed under the oversight of the special- 
ists in charge. 

The collections of the Army Medical 
Museum have a world-wide reputation and 
contain a great quantity of unique and valu- 
able material. There are large collections 
of living animals at the Zoological "Park ; 
and there is a fine series, illustrating fish 
culture, at the Fish Commission building. 
The museum of the Agricultural Depart- 
ment contains valuable material, especially 
the working collections of the different di- 
visions, and the Botanic Gardens are ca- 
pable of great development under scientific 
direction. To the student interested in the 
development of American inventive genius 
and the industries represented by patents 
the collection of models and drawings in 
the Patent Ofiice offers exceptional oppor- 
tunities. Mention should also be made of 
the collections of apparatus of various 
kinds in Government laboratories, and of 
the illustrations of the evolution of appa- 
ratus in the National Museum and Smith- 
sonian Institution. 

In art, while the collections are not so 
large as in other lines, yet there is a collec- 
tion of excellent quality in the Corcoran Gal- 
lery of Art, which maintains a free school. 
•In this school day and night classes are 
taught the arts of drawing and painting, 
free of tuition fees or charge of any kind. 
Up to the close of 1899, 844 pupils had re- 
ceived instruction in the day school and 
1,483 in the night school. 

The Naval Observatory has a good 
equipment, including a chart and a chro- 
nometer depot, an extensive collection or 
instruments used in taking astronomic 
photographs, a fine telescope and transit 
instruments used in canying on its routine 
work. 



SCIENCE. 



13 



The newly created National Bureau of 
Standards is to have buildings and a fine 
equipment ot all necessary apparatus. 
When fully developed it will be second to 
none in the character and value of its scien- 
tific and practical work. The functions of 
this bureau are defined in the organic act as 
follows : 

The functions of the bureau shall consist in the 
custody of the standards ; the comparison of the stand- 
ards used in scientific investigations, engineering, 
manufacturing, commerce and educational institu- 
tions with the standards adopted or recognized by the 
Government ; the construction, when necessary, of 
standards, their multiples and subdivisions ; the 
testing and calibration of standard measuring appa- 
ratus ; the solutions ot problems which arise in con- 
nection with standards ; the determination of phys- 
ical constants and the properties of materials, when 
such data are of great importance to scientific or 
manufacturing interests and are not to be obtained of 
sufficient accuracy elsewhere. 

Law and Dlplomacij. — The State Depart- 
ment has accumulated a valuable library 
relating to international law. The law 
library of Congress contains more than 50,- 
000 volumes exclusively legal in character, 
and accommodations are provided for stu- 
dents who wish to use it. The School of 
Diplomacy of Columbian University is one 
of the unique features of the educational 
organizations of Washington. The Su- 
preme Court of the United States and the 
Court of Claims bring together the foremost 
American lawyers. There is also the Su- 
preme Court of the District of Columbia, 
which has the common- law, equity, and 
probate jurisdiction of State courts, besides 
that of the circuit and district courts of the 
United States. 

There are, of course, unequaled opportu- 
nities for studying the development of leg- 
islation and for meeting the leading states- 
men and public men of the country. 

Medicine. — The Army Medical Museum 
has one of the finest collections in exist- 
ence of recent pathologic specimens. These, 
taken with the library of the Surgeon-Gen- 



eral's Office, in the same building, afford a 
rare opportunity for the medical student. 
In the adjoining National Museum there is 
a most complete collection illustrating the 
materia medica of the United States and of 
foreign countries. There are also several 
hospitals, at each of which clinical instruc- 
tion is given. 

Congress has enacted that these vast col- 
lections and resources shall be available for 
higher education and research, but it has 
not provided the machinery for making 
them practically available. As in the case 
of the grants of land to colleges, Congress 
provides facilities and indirectly the means, 
but it leaves to other agencies the task of 
devising ways and means to make them 
practically useful. 

The Government is obliged to train most 
of its specialists. Opportunities for post- 
graduate study and research exist at a few 
of the strongest universities, colleges and 
technical schools of the country, but at best 
the training given, except in a few branches, 
is of a preparatory character. Most Ameri- 
can youth who are ambitious to pursue 
higher study and research have little oppor- 
tunity, owing largely to the fact that the in- 
structor's duties leave him scarcely any time 
for research and practical work with the stu- 
dent. Postgraduate students seek instruc- 
tors distinguished for research, even to the 
extent of undergoing many privations and 
leaving their country. In the city of Wash- 
ington the Government has assembled the 
largest body of original investigators to be 
found in any one place in the world. Most of 
these investigators are willing to train suit- 
ably qualified students, because of the as- 
sistance the students can give them in the 
work they have in charge, the method being 
to have the students do actual, practical 
work, and not to instruct them in the ordi- 
nary sense of the word. An unofficial in- 
quiry indicates the following as a possible 
number of instructors and students in the 



14 



SCIENCE. 



various departments and bureaus at Wash- 
ington : 

Insinic- Stii- 

tors. dents. 

1. History and diplomacy 1 5 

2. Historical research 5 10 

3. Library administration and methods 5 15 

4. Statistics 2 5 

5. Magnetism 1 2 

6. Meteorology 5 15 

7. Tides 1 2 

8. National Standards ( Bureau of ) 

9. Astronomy 3 8 

10. Physics 2 3 

11. Hydrography 5 10 

12. Cartography, etc 2 5 

13. Topography 10 20 

14. Chemistry 6 10 

15. Mineral resources 1 5 

16. Geology 10 17 

17. Paleontology 5 7 

18. Animal industry 10 25 

19. Anthropology and ethnology 4 13 

20. Zoology 34 50 

21. Botany 11 25 

22. Forestry 10 20 

133 272 

With the development of a well-consid- 
ered plan , j ust alike to the studen t and to the 
officers of the Government, the number of 
students — or, more strictly speaking, stu- 
dent assistants — would increase from year 
to year. Most of the students would natu- 
rally come from institutions of learning ; in 
all such cases the student should be certi- 
fied to the director of the Washington Me- 
morial Institution, and finally certified back 
to the parent institution after completing 
his work, such certificate to be based on 
the work done and the proficiency made. 
In the case of individual students not 
connected with any institution, let each 
prove his capacity to profit by the oppor- 
tunities, and then accredit him to the special 
officer who has charge of the field of work 
in which he may wish to study ; on satisfac- 
tory completion of the work undertaken, 
the certificate of the Washington Memorial 
Institution might be addressed ' To ivhom- 



soever it may concern.' Students working in 
Government laboratories, museums and li- 
braries would be subject to the rules obtain- 
ing therein. 

It is the belief of many acquainted with 
the educational system of the country that 
the policy above outlined will result in a 
body of trained students, ready for expert 
work, many of whoin will undoubtedly 
enter the government service, while others 
will become instructors in institutions of 
learning or be engaged as experts in private 
capacity. This will avoid competition with 
other institutions, will give most valuable 
training and practical experience to stu- 
dents, and will be especially helpful to in- 
structors in educational institutions, who 
might wisely be sent for six months or a 
year to Washington, as at present some are 
sent abroad. There should be no thought 
of providing a general or liberal course of 
education. Coming as student assistants, 
there should be opportunities and encour- 
agement only on clearly defined lines of 
study and investigation. There are many 
large and small problems to be worked out 
by the officers of the Washington Memorial 
Institution, but with the skilled educator 
and organizer now at its head as director 
their successful solution is only a matter 
of time. It is anticipated that the Wash- 
ington Memorial Institution will, under 
the direction of Dr. Gilman, begin its work 
by November 1, 1901. 

The Government's part in the work, when 
once under successful headway, will be to 
enlarge the quarters of the various bu- 
reaus concerned. This will be necessary 
eventually even if no student assistants are 
provided for. The Government has done 
its part nobly so far. It is now for the edu- 
cational institutions of the country to come 
forward and assist by setting a high stand- 
ard of scholarship for admission to the 
privilege of becoming a student assistant in 
the Government bureaus. Only students 



SCIENCE. 



15 



of the type of those who win fellowships 
or excel in abilitj' should be certified or 
accepted. 

The Washington Memorial Institution 
should, and I believe will, maintain a 
standard that will meet the approval of our 
colleges and universities. It should occupy 
a most important place in the great educa- 
tional work of the country. With the 
hearty cooperation of our collegiate institu- 
tions and of the officers of the Grovernment, 
there is little question that it will ulti- 
mately become the federated head and 
clearing-house of all the higher educational 
interests of the country. 

The relations of the National Govern- 
ment to higher education and research are 



intimate and complex ; but the complexi- 
ties are already partially resolved, the 
present is auspicious, and the future out- 
look is most promising. Long ago the na- 
tion recognized its obligation ' to promote 
a higher aod more extended policy than is 
embraced in the protection of the temporal 
interests and political rights of the indi- 
vidual.' The action of Congress in the 
present year in opening the Government 
bureaus at Washington for study and re- 
search is a long stride forward, and, if 
carried out in good faith must result in 
another and higher standard for American 
endeavor. 

Charles D. Walcott. 
U. S. Geological Survey. 



■e\ 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



029 479 532 7 




